Synchro-centering automatic table or gauge



.1. P. TRECIOKAS 2 951507 SYNCHRO-CENTERING AUTOMATIC TABLE OR GAUGE Sept. 1960 Filed July 24, 1958 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR Jacob I? Weciokas Sept. 6, 1960 J. P. TRECIOKAS SYNCHRO-CENTERING AUTOMATIC TABLE OR GAUGE 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INV'ENTOR Jacob I? Treciokas TTORNEY Sept. 6, 1960 J. P. TRECZIOKAS 7 SYNCHRO-CENTERING AUTOMATIC TAY SLE OR GAUGE Filed July 24, 1958 sheets-sheet 3 Sept. 6, 1960 J. P. TRECIOKAS 2,951,607

SYNCHRO-CENTERING AUTOMATIC TABLE OR GAUGE Filed July 24, 1958 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 X II 7 58 H' 4 55 A 46 56 5 INVENTOR United States Patent 2,951,607 SYNCHRO-CENTERING AUTOMATIC TABLE 0R GAUGE Jacob P. Treciokas, Oakville, Conn., assignor to Scovill Manufacturing Company, Waterbury, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Filed July 24, 1958, Ser. No. 750,801 Claims. (Cl. '2'1'86) This invention is an improvement in machines for setting a plurality of fastener elements on a garment from a single setting station of the type shown in the Carpinella et a1. Patent 2,734,653.

One of the faults in prior fastener machines was that when .a machine was set up to set fasteners upon a garment, it could only accommodate one size of garment,

and whenever a different size of garment was to have fasteners attached thereto, it would require replacement of the cam and readjustment of the several working parts of the machine.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide a machine which can set fasteners upon garments of diiferent sizes without the necessity of changing any parts.

Another object of this invention is to provide a mechanism for setting a plurality of fasteners upon a garment at a single setting station wherein a work-holding carriage is automatically movable to spaced intervals corresponding to positions that the fasteners are to be set upon a minimum-sized garment, thereby bringing selected places along the carriage in registry with the setting 'station and wherein some of the garment gripper means for holding the garment upon the movable carriage can be moved automatically relative to the carriage to grip a larger garment at more widely spaced positions and wherein the more widely gripped portions are automatically moved back to the narrower spacing corre sponding to the carriage movement intervals.

The novel features of this invention will be best understood when takentogether with the accompanying drawings in which certain embodiments of the invention are disclosed and in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation showing. portions of a fatener setting machine embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the work-holding carriage and associated parts;

Fig. 3 is a right end view of the machine; Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional view taken along line 4-4 of Fig. 1 to show principally a plan view of the garment size index mechanism; .Fig. 5 is an enlarged front elevation of the right adjustable garment gripper unit;

' 1 Fig. 6 is a perspective of the bracket that supports the index plate and the carriage unit on the machine frame;

1. and

. Figs. 7, 8, 9 and 10 are schematic views of the work f holding carriage at different operative positions through "one cycle of operation.

In the drawings, the numeral 10 designates a machine j fi ame on which the usual fastener attaching tools are mounted. These tools include a vertically operated setting plunger 11 mounted in the head 12 on the frame,

the axis of which will hereinafter be referred to as the being set upon a work piece or garment G in the usual manner of fastener setting machines. The garment G will hereinafter be referred to as the work.

In order to set a plurality of equally spaced fastener elements upon the work at a single setting station, a

work-holding carriage is provided with a plurality of ice grippers gripping the work at the places to which the fasteners are to be attached and then the carriage is moved across the front of the machine in both directions for bringing selected positions upon the work in line with the fastener setting station.

The machine frame 10 is formed with a forward projection or boss 13 to which is hingedly secured a table bracket 14 by means of bracket 74 as will be more fully described later. The bracket 14 supports left and right surface plates 14a and 14b extending laterally either side of the setting station X. The work G is carried by the work-holding carriage generally indicated by the numeral 15. The carriage has left and right bearing brackets 16 and 17, a tie-bar 18 and a square shaft 19. The tie-bar 18 is connected to the bearing brackets 16 and 17 as by screws 16a and 17a, and the opposite ends of the square shaft 19 are formed with end spindles 20 and 21 rotatable in bearings 22 and 23 formed as an integral part of the brackets 16 and 17 so that all the parts of carriage 15 move as a unit.

In order to movably mount the carriage unit '15 on the machine, the table bracket 14 supports horizontal rails 24 extending laterally either side thereof, and each hearing bracket 16 and 17 is provided with a set of three rollers 25 and 26 rotatable along the upper and lower edges of said rails 24, the sets of rollers being arranged as shown in Fig. 1. Movement is imparted to carriage unit 15 from a lever 27 pivoted to the right side of the frame 10 at 28 (see Figs. 2 and 3) and having a roller 29 at its outer end engaging in a slot 30 of an extension 3 1 formed as a part of the right bearing bracket 17. The opopsite end of the lever 27 is driven by a cam 32 engaging a roller 33 on said lever in a manner similar to that described in the aboveareferred-to patent.

In order to support and convey the work G with the carriage unit 15, a plurality of work grippers are supported on the square shaft 19, three in this instance, a center work gripper 34 and two side work grippers 35 and 36. The center work gripper 34 is made secure to the square shaft 19 and clamps the work against a work-support plate 37 that normally overlies a lower die housing plate 38. The work-support plate 37 has a downward extension 39 that connects to the tie-bar 18, and thus the plate 37 and the work gripper 34 move with the carriage unit 15. The plate 37 has a clearance opening (see Fig. 2) 37a for clearance in setting the fastener elements on the work G, and the center gripper 34 is provided with a pair of suitable fingers 34a that are adapted to grip the work G against the plate 37 either side of the clearance opening 37a during the fastener set-ting operation.

The side work grippers 35 and 36 are slidably and non-rotatably mounted to move longitudinally on the square shaft 19 for reasons as will appear later. Left Work gripper 35 is formed with an integral bushing 40 which rotates in a bracket 41. The bracket 41 carries a work support plate 42 that slides along the top of left surface plate 14a and is formed with a clearance opening 42a for the same reason as opening 37a in plate 37. The gripper 35 also has a pair of suitable fingers 35a that are adapted to grip the work G against the top surface of the plate 42. Assuming that a garment larger than the minimum is being held by the grippers, the side work grippers must during the operating of the machine be moved inwardly to the proper position for setting the end fastener elements. For this purpose, the movement of the gripper 35 is arrested during the left movement 6 of the carriage unit 15. The bracket 41 carries a stop finger 43 that extends underneath the surface plate 14a and is adapted to abut a stop block 44 fixed to the underside of said surfaceplate 1441. In view of the fact that the work support plate 42 engages the top of the surface plate 14a and the stop finger 43 engages the bottom of said surface plate, both being attached to the same support bracket 41, the position of said bracket will be stabilized while the gripper 35 is being rotated relative to said bracket by the square rod shaft 19. i

The right work gripper 36 is similar to the left gripper 35 and a more detailed and enlarged view is shown in Pig. 5. The gripper 36 is provided with a bushing 45 (Fig. which rotates in a bracket 46, and held there -inplace by a snap ring 46a engaging in a suitable recess 45a in said bushing. A work-support plate 47 is carried by'the bracket 46 and is slidable along the top of the right surface plate 14b. The plate 47 is provided with the usual clearance opening 47a similar to opening 42a in plate 42. The right gripper 36, like gripper 35, has a pair of suitable fingers 36a that are adapted to grip the work G against the top surface of the plate 47. The bracket 46 also has a stop finger 48 which engages the bottom of the right surface plate 14b and is adapted to abut a stop block 49 secured to the underside of right surface plate 14b and checks the movement of the Work gripper 36 when the carriage unit 15 advances to the end of its right stroke.

In order to impart rotary movement to the square shaft 1 9 for the purpose of causing the fingers carried by the three garment grippers 34, 35 and 36 to grip the work G at three selected positions against their associated worksupport plates 37, 42 and 47, a pinion gear 50 is keyed to the left spindle Ztl and meshes with the driver gear :51 rotatable on a stud pin 52 in left bearing bracket 22.

The driver gear 51 has an integral hub 51a to which is .fixed a rod 53 having a roller 54 at its outer end. The

roller 54 engages a longitudinal bar 55 that may be operated by a solenoid or some other suitable mechanism (not shown) associated with the fastener machine and moved forwardly at the start of the machine for first gripping the work by the three grippers 34, 35 and 36 before movement is imparted to the carriage unit 15.

When larger size garments are operated upon in the machine here disclosed, first it is necessary to adjust the side grippers 35 and 36 on the square shaft 19 the proper distance to accommodate said larger garments. This adjustment is manually made by the operator when the first of the garments of larger size are to be operated upon, and to assure that the side grippers 35 and 36 will be uniformly spaced from the center gripper 34, a rack and pinion connecting mechanism is provided. As best shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the bearing bracket 41 associated with' the left gripper 35 has a long rack 56 connected thereto which extends to the right of the machine where it is guided a suitable housing 57 formed as a part of the right bearing 23 of bracket 17 and engages with a pinion gear 58 pivotally mounted in said housing. The bearing bracket 46 of the right gripper 36 also has a rack 59 connected thereto that also extends to the right a and meshes with the pinion 58. Thus, as either one of the end grippers 35 or 36 moves away or toward the center gripper 34, the opposite gripper will move an equal distance.

When the end grippers 35 and 36 are moved away from the center gripper 34 to properly space them to accommodate a larger size garment, they, of course, have to be moved back toward said center gripper to bring the gripped portions of the garment into position in the machine such that they will be in line with the setting station when fasteners are to be set at the ends. This return movement of the end grippers will cause the excess garment material between the grippers to buckle up such as shown in Fig. 9. After all the fasteners are secured to one garment (of the larger size group), it is necessary to return the side grippers 35 and 36 to their properly spaced relationship away from the center gripper 34 to accommodate the next garment operated upon. This may be done automatically by a solenoid operated control 4 consisting of a bracket 60 pivoted to the right of the machine frame 10 about a vertical pivot pin 61. The bracket 60 has a pair of vertically spaced bearing bosses 62 in which operates a plunger stop pin 63. The upper end of the pin 63 in normal position is below the line of travel of the stop finger 48 so as not to be engaged thereby when the carriage unit 15 moves back and forth. At the proper time, the pin 63 is moved upwardly by a solenoid 64 secured to the bracket 60 and having suitable connecting linkage 65 with said stop pin. In order to obtain the proper timing for the operation of the solenoid 64 in relation to the operational cycle of the carriage unit 15,- the solenoid may be energized and de-energized by a microswitch under the control of a cam operating from one of the rotating shafts of the setting machine. The pin 63 is urged upwardly against the influence of a-compression spring 66 compressed between upper bearing boss 62 and a washer 67 secured to said stop pin 63 by a cross pin' 68.

The stop pin 63 may be swung to the desired position in accordance with the size of the garment to be operated upon and there fixed in place. It is for that purpose that the bracket 60 is pivoted to the frame 10 and is formed with a handle extension 69 carrying a spring-operated plunge'rpin 70 operated by a handle knob 71. As the bracket 60 is swung about its pivot, the plunger pin 70 may be indexed with any one of a number of holes 72 in an index plate 73 supported by a bracket 74 (see Figs.

4 and 6) secured to the underside of the machine boss 13.

in the machine, the plates 42 and 47 associated with the end grippers 35 and 36 support back stops 79 and 80 against which the edge of the work piece G may be "abu-ttedf Also, end stops 81 and 82 are provided on the same plates 42 and 47 for locating the ends of the work piece G in proper position in relation to the clearance openings 42a and 47a through which the fasteners are set.

Operation The sequence of operations that are performed in one cycle run of the machine is best shown in the diagrammatic views in Figs. 7 to 10, inclusive. As shown in Fig. 7, the work grippers 34, 35 and 36 are spaced to accommodate the smallest size of garment to be worked upon, with the center gripper 34 in line with the setting station X. The spacing of the side grippers 35 and 36 from the center gripper 34 is indicated by the distance line A, which may be referred to as the carriage movement interval. In this example, when the machine starts through its cycle of operations, the square rod 19 will first be rotated to cause the work G to be gripped by the three'grippers at the areas to which the fasteners are to be attached. Before the carriage unit starts to move, the middle fastener will first be attached, then the carriage unit 15' will move next to the left to bring the right work gripper 36 in line with the setting station X where the second fastener will be attached. The carriage unit 15 is then moved to the right to bringthe left work gripper in line with the setting station'where the third fastener will be attached. Finally, the carriage unit 15 will be returned to starting position where the work grippers will be released and the garment removed from the machine. In this example there has been no movement of the end work grippers 35 and 36 relative to the center gripper 34. Y

When a larger garment is tobe operated upon in the same machine, the stop pin 63 should be relocated by operating the plunger pin 70 and indexing it with proper hole 72 in the index plate 73 in accordance with the size of the garment. When the first of the larger garments to be operated upon is placed into the machine, the operator will manually move the work grippers 35 and 36 slidably along the square shaft away from the center gripper 34 to correspond to the garment size such as indicated by the distance line B in Fig. 8. It will be understood that the movement of either one of the side work grippers 35 or 36 will move the opposite side gripper an equal distance from the center gripper 34 by reason of the rack and pinion connection. When the machine is started, the three work grippers will first grip the work piece G and the center fastener will be attached. In the next step as the carriage unit moves to the left, the stop finger 43 carried by the left work gripper 35 will contact the stop block 44 arresting further movement of said work gripper 35. As the carriage unit continues to move to the left to the limit of its stroke, the center gripper 34 attached to the square rod 19 will of course, move with the carriage unit 15 to the minimum A distance (the carriage movement interval) from the left gripper and at the same time, the right gripper 36 will move up to an equal distance A from said center gripper by reason of the rack and pinion mechanism as the carriage unit 15 comes to the limit of its left stroke, whereupon the right gripper 36 will be in line with the setting station for receiving the second fastener and the garment material will be buckled up between the three grippers shown in Fig. 9.

If perchance there should be any disturbance of the position of the side work grippers 35 and 36 during the movement of the carriage unit, and also to assure that said side grippers will be properly aligned with the setting station X as the carriage unit 15 completes its left movement on the first part of its cycle, the stop finger 48 of the right gripper 36 will contact the right wall of the machine boss 13 as indicated at the sectionalized portion 13a in Fig. 9. Thus, it will be observed that while the stop finger 48 contacts the right Wall 13a of the boss 13, the stop finger 43 of the left gripper 35 will still be in contact with the stop block '44, thereby preventing any possible lateral movement of the side gn'ppers relative to the carriage unit 15.

After the setting of the second fastener, the carriage unit 15 will move to the right its full stroke to bring the left gripper 35 in line with the setting station X where the third fastener is secured. If perchance the end grippers 35 and 36 should be disarranged during the right stroke of the carriage unit, this disarrangement is corrected by having the stop finger 48 of the right gripper strike the stop block 49 which will return both end grippers to the correct distance A from the center gripper. Likewise, as the carriage unit 15 completes its stroke to the right, the stop finger 43 of the left gripper 35 will contact the left wall of the machine boss 13 as indicated at the sectionalized portion 13b, thus assuring a locked position of the end grippers 35 and 36 on said carriage unit.

After the third fastener has been attached and before the carriage unit 15 returns to starting position, the solenoid 64 will be energized to elevate the stop pin 63, and during the return stroke of said carriage unit 15, the stop finger 48 of the right gripper 36 will contact said stop pin 63 causing the end grippers 35 and 36 to be separated the right distance B from the center gripper- 34 as the carriage unit 15 completes its cycle of operations. With the completion of the machine cycle of operation, the solenoid will be deenergized and the stop pin 63 retracted below the line of travel of stop finger 48. When the carriage unit 15 comes to rest, the square rod 19 will be rotated to release the work grippers so that the work piece G with fasteners attached may be removed and the machine is then ready to receive the next garment of the designated size.

One form of the invention is presented herein for the purpose of showing an illustrative embodiment. It is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto but may comprehend other constructions and arrangements within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. In a fastener attaching machine of the class described having a fixed fastener setting station, a work holding carriage movable to a plurality of predetermined positions with respect to said fastener setting station whereby fasteners may be attached to the work at definitely spaced carriage movement intervals, a plurality of work grippers spaced along the length of said carriage, one for holding the work at each place where a fastener is to be attached, some of said grippers being movable relative to the carriage between positions where the spacing of all the grippers correspond to the carriage movement intervals and positions with any desired wider spacing whereby portions of the work may be gripped at such more widely spaced positions, and such gripped portions shifted by said movable grippers to the narrower spacing corresponding to said carriage movement intervals.

2. In a fastener attaching machine, a frame, fastener attaching tools mounted on the frame providing a centrally located setting station, a work-holding carriage slidably mounted on said frame, means for automatically moving said carriage from a central position with respect to said fastener setting station first a fixed interval to one side and then an equal fixed interval to the other side of said central position, a middle work gripper fixed against endwise movement on said camage for holding the central portion of a workpiece for attachment of a fastener at the central position, a side work gripper on each side of said middle gripper and being mounted on the carriage for limited movement along the length of the carriage between an inner position where they are spaced from the middle gripper to correspond with the carriage movement interval and an outer position where they may grip a workpiece at more widely spaced intervals, and means for automatically moving said side work gripper from said outer position to said inner position during movement of said carriage to one or the other of its end positions.

3. In a fastener attaching machine, the combination of claim 2 and means for automatically shifting said side grippers to the outer position when the carriage is being returned to the central position after the endmost fasteners have been attached.

4. In a fastener attaching machine, the combination of claim 2 wherein said automatic gripper moving means includes cooperating abutting stops on the frame and gripper, and means interconnecting the side grippers to insure equal movement of the side grippers toward or away from the central position.

5. In a machine for setting a plurality of fastener elements at spaced intervals upon work pieces of different sizes at a fixed fastener setting station, a work-holding carriage, means for gripping the work piece to said carriage at places where fasteners are to be attached, means for moving said carriage to bring the gripped areas of said work piece in line with the setting station, the movement interval of said carriage being equal to the spacing of the fastener to be set upon the smallest work piece, one of said gripping means being fixed to move with said :arriage and another of said grippers being movable laterally relative td said carriage away from said fixed gripper to accommodate larger size work pieces, and means for moving said movable gripper back to a minimum spaced distance between said grippers coincident with the movement of said carriage, said minimum spaced distance being equal to the carriage movement interval.

No references cited. 

